Core tiger habitat areas of NPs to be kept inviolate for tiger conservation, SC told

New Delhi: The Union government has told the Supreme Court that the core or critical tiger habitat areas of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries have to be kept “inviolate” for the purpose of tiger conservation and the provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 categorically highlights this point.

The government said this in an affidavit filed in the apex court on a plea over the decision of the Jim Corbett National Park allowing buses of a private operator to ply within the core area of the tiger reserve in Uttarakhand.

The matter came up for hearing before a bench of Justices S K Kaul and A S Oka.

The counsel appearing for Uttarakhand told the bench that the state would like to place on record its counter affidavit in the matter.

While posting the matter for hearing after six weeks, the Supreme Court said its February 18, 2021 order staying the implementation of the December 23, 2020 office letter issued by the Director of the Jim Corbett National Park will continue.

Advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, who has filed the petition, had earlier told the apex court that the decision of the Jim Corbett National Park was in violation of the Wild Life (Protection) Act.

In its counter affidavit filed in the apex court, the Centre has said the National Tiger Conservation Authority is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and was constituted for strengthening tiger conservation.

“It is most humbly submitted that section 38 V (4) (i) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 categorically highlights the fact that the core or critical tiger habitat areas of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries have to be kept as inviolate for the purposes of tiger conservation,” the affidavit, filed in September last year, said.

It said as per the provision of the 1972 Act, only certain persons are allowed to enter a national park without a permit granted under section 28 of the Act.

“This includes a person passing through the national park along a public highway. If the route is not a public highway, then a permit is required to be granted by the Chief Wild-Life Warden under section 28 for a person to use the route,” it said.